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County to celebrate centennial Wednesday

Terri Pierce works on a centennial display at the Bay County Government Center in Panama City.

Andrew Wardlow | The News Herald

By Matthew Beaton / The News Herald

Published: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 04:58 PM.

PANAMA CITY
—
Bay
County
’s centennial is being celebrated Wednesday, 100 years after
Florida
Gov. Park Trammell signed legislation formally creating it.

Dubbed the Legislative Formation Day Celebration, the public is invited to attend, said Rebecca Saunders, a member of the county’s Centennial Committee.

“We encourage anyone who’s interested in the history of their county to come and celebrate with us, and enjoy some refreshments and entertainment and hopefully learn a little of the history,” she said.

The event will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at the McKenzie House at
17 E. Third Court
in
Panama
City
. The historical significance of the day will be explained and tours of the house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be given.

Dubbed the Legislative Formation Day Celebration, the public is invited to attend, said Rebecca Saunders, a member of the county’s Centennial Committee.

“We encourage anyone who’s interested in the history of their county to come and celebrate with us, and enjoy some refreshments and entertainment and hopefully learn a little of the history,” she said.

The event will run from 5 to 7 p.m. at the McKenzie House at 17 E. Third Court in Panama City. The historical significance of the day will be explained and tours of the house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will be given.

A scanned and enlarged issue of the April 24, 1913 edition of the Panama City Pilot, a newspaper at the time, will also be on display, Saunders said. Another edition from July 1913 also will be on display. That paper details the new county’s celebration of its founding.

CountyCommissioners Bill Dozier and Guy Tunnell have confirmed they will attend the event, Saunders said.

There is a connection between the McKenzie House and the county’s formation. The home holds the pen that Trammell used to sign the legislation — on April 24, 1913 — that established BayCounty. The pen belonged to Robert Lee McKenzie, the first mayor of Panama City, who lived in the house, Saunders said. McKenzie also served in the Florida Legislature.

The house, built in 1909, also contains McKenzie’s office, where he conducted much of his business, Saunders said.

“It’s just like he walked out and left it in the ‘50s,” she said, adding, “We’re always proud to show the house and explain the significance of the home.”